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John Philip Kemble

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

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Actor, theatre manager and playwright, John Philip Kemble was the oldest son of Roger Kemble, who managed a touring theatre company. He followed his sister Sarah Siddons to Drury Lane, where he first appeared as Hamlet in 1783. He played a wide range of characters and excelled in Shakespearian tragedy, often appearing opposite Siddons. Between 1788 and 1796 he was also actor-manager at Drury Lane under Richard Brinsley Sheridan until he and Siddons defected to Covent Garden Theatre where he became manager and part-owner. Theatre management included producing plays and Kemble, who had antiquarian interests, was among the first to champion historically accurate productions of Shakespeare. He wrote a number of plays and had a deep knowledge of drama and stagecraft.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

John Philip Kemble

Date

c.1785

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 74.9 x W 62.2 cm

Accession number

49

Acquisition method

Given by John Thadeus Delane, 1858

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

National Portrait Gallery, London

St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England

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